The season premiere of TIU sure gave us a lot to talk about! It’s Kate, Kevin and Randall’s birthday! From the opening scene, a jubilant Randall is fawning over a neighbor’s baby. Clearly, he is moving forward 100% with adoption plans for him and Beth. He returns home, and we learn that he is now a stay-at-home dad, while Beth has gone back to work. It’s also apparent that Beth is not happy about Randall’s plan for adoption. She also knows that it doesn’t matter – it is happening. Later at the adoption agency, the social worker can see that Beth is not on board and she questions them about it.

As Beth suspected, he tells her that they are doing this no matter what. Beth storms out of the room. Randall follows and finds Beth “fake smoking.” They argue but, again, Randall just doesn’t care what Beth wants. Later, Beth recalls a moment she spent with William. They talk about how Randall just brought William home to stay without notice or without consulting her. Randall wanted it and made it so. But she came to love William and indeed they shared an extraordinary friendship. In the background, some teenagers are hanging out. William comments that if he had not given Randall up for adoption his life would have been very different. He was happy that Randall found a home with good people who raised him well.

In the meantime, after his fight with Beth, Randall heads to see Rebecca for advice about how to make Beth ok with the adoption. Rebecca tells him that she did not want to adopt him at first. She was still grieving the loss of one of their babies, and she was not happy with Jack for forcing the adoption of Randall on her. But Jack knew it was the right thing even if she didn’t. It was the right decision because she fell in love with Randall and he became her life.

Randall returns home to find Beth at home, and she is still angry. He tries to explain why this means so much to him. Beth knows Randall and understands his feelings. She has been doing some thinking too and has a different idea. Beth proposes they adopt an older child – a teenager who needs them. Randall is intrigued and not opposed to the idea.

Kevin is busy in L.A. filming the movie for Ron Howard. As Kevin finishes his scene, Ron surprises him with a birthday cake and a small party! Kevin is heading back to his trailer when Sophia calls him. She tells him that her mom is not well and she is not going to make it to L.A. to celebrate his birthday with him. He is disappointed, and a little angry but they are ok. Kevin heads off to Kate and Toby’s place.

Kate and Toby are talking about Kate’s singing audition that afternoon. Toby is helping her with her wardrobe. They pick out an outfit, and things start to get romantic. At that moment, Kevin lets himself to their apartment and kills the romance. Kate and Kevin have this twin bond that Toby doesn’t understand and resents. Although Toby loved the outfit she had on, Kevin does not, so she changes. Toby is irritated.

At the audition, Kate is intimidated by the beautiful, thin girls in tiny dresses and leaves without auditioning. She does not tell Toby that she baled. They head off to dinner with Kevin, who has reserved this fancy, expensive restaurant, so they have it all to themselves. Things get off to a rocky start when an already pissed Toby finds out that Kate did not go to the audition. He leaves when he finds out that Kevin knew. Kevin and Toby argue and tells Kevin to back off. Kate interrupts their argument and announces that she is going to go back to the audition. She will not be intimidated because she doesn’t look like the others. Kevin and Toby call a truce. Kevin heads home, and when he arrives, he is thrilled to find that Sophia is there waiting for him!

Back at the audition, Kate is told that it’s too late. Kate demands that she be heard, so the director lets her sing. She sings, and it does not go well. She gives the director a speech about not picking her because of her size. He calls to the stage, the girl who won the audition to sing the same song and is clearly the better singer. He tells Kate that he could care less about her size. She’s just not good enough. Kate leaves determined to practice and train to make her dream happen.

So, now we come to the part of the story that everyone has been talking about. When season 1 ended, and we were no closer to finding out Jack died, we were promised we’d have answers in the premiere episode. Well, we got answers. But we also have a lot more questions. Jack and Rebecca are separated after their huge fight, this we know. Jack ends up at Miguel’s, this we are aware too. All of this has happened while Kate, Randall, and Kevin are at a party. The kids are shocked when it is Rebecca, not Jack that picks them up after the party. The next day she and Jack meet with the kids at a restaurant. They explain what happened and that Jack will be living with Miguel for a while. All three are devastated, except Randall. It seems that Randall left the party early and walked home. He arrives right in the middle of their fight, listens for a minute, and goes back to the party. He doesn’t tell the others. Jack and Rebecca tell their kids that they are not divorcing, just taking a break. Kids leave the restaurant, and J & R are alone. Jack tries to apologize, but Rebecca tells him she is not ready – she just feels disappointed and she needs to start to feel something else before he can come home.

That evening, Rebecca and the kids are home. The kids are clearly upset as is Rebecca. She hauls them all to a Tom Hanks movie so they can have a few laughs and forget. Nobody enjoys the movie. Nobody forgets. After the movie, Rebecca heads to Miguel’s to get bring Jack home. An amazed Jack opens the door to find Rebecca who says that they can only work on their problems if they do it together – not apart. That’s when Jack tells her that he’s drunk. In fact, he’s drunk most of the time. He knows he has a problem and won’t come home until he’s sober. Rebecca is shocked, and Jack closes the door in her face. Soon, there is another knock at the door. It’s Rebecca, who just tells Jack to get in the car. This is something that they will fix together.

So, the hour is almost over, and we are no closer to finding out how Jack dies! Wait, here’s Rebecca driving alone, crying. Next to her are Jack’s belongings in a plastic bag. Next, we see Kate and Randall at Miguel’s house. Something terrible has happened. Kate is clutching a small dog. Kevin doesn’t know what happened yet (and neither do we). At that moment, we see Kevin is kissing a girl, probably Sophia, but his leg is in a cast. We are taken back to Rebecca in the car. She pulls the car over I assumed at Miguel’s, but instead of getting out of the car, she falls apart. It’s then that we see that she isn’t at Miguel’s, she’s at their home, and it has been destroyed by fire! Whoa! Never saw that coming.

There you have it. It’s hard to believe that all of this happened in one hour! We’ve been given one tiny piece of the puzzle. We assume that Jack was killed in the fire. It seems clear that that’s how he died. What we have still to find out is how. Was he drunk and accidentally set the fire? Kate has a dog. Where did the dog come from? Did he get the kids out and go back for the dog? Is that why Kate blames herself? Why is Kevin in a cast? We need answers and knowing the awesome TIU writers, they are going to keep us guessing this entire season